During his time at North Bergen High School, Gianni Zayas was the number one pitcher for the Bruins. But he could’ve never forecasted what his future would hold just two years later.

The Chicago Cubs selected Zayas last weekend with the fourth pick in the 29th round of the MLB draft. Zayas, 20, played his freshman year of college at North Carolina State before transferring to Seminole State College of Florida for his sophomore season.

Zayas is the third player from North Bergen to ever be selected in the draft and the second of coach Patrick Brady, following Damien Seguen who was selected in the 46th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007.

“He was our number one power pitcher,” Brady said. “He was a big game pitcher. He had some big wins for us.”

Zayas went 5-1 during his senior year while taking down perennial powers Randolph and St. Peter’s Prep along the way. The HCIAL second teamer topped out at 92 mph in his final year with the Bruins. His diverse pitching repertoire consists of a fastball, two-seam, changeup, slider and curveball.

Last season at Seminole, Zayas went 4-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 53.2 innings of work. He also struck out 49.

Zayas talked to the Cubs just once prior to the draft.

“They just wanted to know if I was healthy and if I was ready to go,” he said.

Zayas has always been family oriented so it’s no surprise that he spent draft day at his home, in his room, with his parents. The three followed the draft online on MLB.com. He began receiving calls at the start of the 13th round and that’s when the negotiations began.

“I was getting calls but we had to turn down offers because the money didn’t match,” he said.

Then, his advisor, Tripper Johnson, rang his phone.

“My advisor called me about five seconds before they picked me,” he said. “He said you’re about to get picked up by the Cubs.”

Having played at two different colleges and various off-season leagues, Zayas knew many players who would be selected in the draft. He says even if he weren’t selected this year, simply watching his peers make the jump would’ve been satisfying enough. When his name was called, something he hadn’t thought possible just a couple of years ago, was at that moment a reality.

“I’ve never felt like that before,” he said. “Like a little kid with a new toy.”

Zayas now finds himself in a win-win situation. He will take his talents to the Cape Cod summer baseball league to prove himself before inking a deal. If he does well, the Cubs will likely sign him. If Zayas doesn’t perform up to par, he has a full scholarship awaiting him at Florida International University.

Perhaps it was written that Zayas would find his way to the sport. His father played in Cuba and at a high level, according to Zayas. He believes that had the county had a professional league, his father would’ve participated.

Following his season with Seminole, Zayas came back to North Bergen to talk to the current players to teach them tools that he learned during his time in high school and college.

“I believe that if you have the opportunity to help somebody and you don’t help them then you’re wasting your life,” Zayas said. “That’s why I always try to be honest with people and give them my experiences…things you wouldn’t know unless you went through them.”